Children of Disney
by ILoveIcees
Summary: Once upon a time, the Disney princesses had their own children. They had a lot of journeys and learned a lot about themselves. Do you want to know about them? Go ahead and find out things about them, while they find out things about you... sort of.
1. Alone

**A/N: I have arisen from the dead! And I'm rewriting some of these chapters ;)**

**Hey, guys! Soooooo… here's my first Disney fanfic. It's about the children of the Disney princesses and their crazy journeys. If it sounds good, read it! If it sounds bad, read it anyways! So, without further ado, here's chapter one!**

_All around her was silent, and she could see nothing. The world was black. There was no ground, no sky, no sign of life. She was utterly alone, and that was, perhaps, the scariest thing. Suddenly, there was a voice. "Are you lost, child?" it cooed. She looked around, wide-eyed. The voice cackled. "Yes, you are lost. And alone. That is your worst fear, right? That you will be alone?" A thousand more insane voices began shouting things at her. **Weak. Useless. Alone.**_

Gladice awoke with a start. She surveyed her large room with crystal blue eyes, breathing a sigh of relief when she spotted daylight shining through her silvery curtains. Stretching out her arms so wide her spine popped, she tugged her knees up to her chest. Why was it that this dream only occurred the nights before she was due to meet with the other royal children? A hand slid through her reddish brown hair, as she pondered the idea. But she came up with no explanation, and was not in a proper mood to dwell on such things. Lazily, she climbed out of bed.

The grandfather clock in the corner of her room chimed six times, and she scrunched up her nose. Gladice _despised _the thing- a rickety antique, given to her by her grandfather. Truthfully, she did not care for most of the things in her room, though she knew everything fit so well together. Most of it was given to her or just plain picked out by a snobby interior designer. The clock began to chime again, and she threw her pillow at it. "I hear you, you old clock! 'Come on, get up!' you say," she huffed. Crossing her arms, she called for a servant to help her prepare for the day. Today, she would once again see her very best friends. And _Lance._ Lance, who she hadn't seen since her sixteenth birthday nearly a month ago, was going to be there, sitting to her right, two seats down, just like he always did, with his dreamy blonde hair and sparkling purple irises and charming smile and... She giggled and began dancing around her room, excited for the day ahead of them.

* * *

The dawn was a welcome sight to Rosette, who was leaning over the railing of her balcony in her night dress. She sucked in a breath of fresh summer air and curled her lips into a smile. Suddenly, there was a sharp knock a moment before her sister burst into her room, causing her to stumble back inside off the balcony.

"Kandy? What in the world are you doing?" she asked her sister. Kandell giggled and stuck her tongue out.

"Bonjour to you, too, sis," the girl greeted. "Do I have to remind you that _I_ was the one who designed your new dress? I want to see how it looks on you, duh." The petite brunette was already fixed up in her own pale green dress, adorned with a white sash, but her hair was just as messy as ever. Rose crossed her arms.

"Madame Wardrobe has not come with it, yet. Be patient." Just as the words left her mouth, there came three loud knocks at the door.

"Oh girls~!" sang a deep voice, and Rose barely had time to react before Kandell had rushed over and opened the door.

"Madame Wardrobe!" the twelve-year-old squealed. The royal dressmaker stepped into the room and gave both girls a big hug.

She spoke in a sing-song voice. "Mademoiselle Rosette, I have your dress ready." The hefty woman held up a garment bag in one hand. "Fabulous work on this, Mademoiselle Kandell." Kandy beamed and did a little curtsy for them. Laying the bag out on the bed, Madame Wardrobe unzipped it to revel a stunning blue dress decorated with golden lace and red rosettes. It was gorgeous.

"I love it," Rosette managed to say, through her stunned smile. Eyeing the girl, she saw her bouncing up and down excitedly. Rose rolled her eyes, and walked over to hold the door open. "Okay, go on, now. Shoo, so I can get ready." The girl's eyes drooped, but Kandell left the room without argument. "Alright then." It took about three tries and the help of Madame Wardrobe to pull on the snug bodice of the dress. The skirt flared out to her knees. All in all, it came together to accentuate her-ahem- curves. Not that she really _minded._ Evan's reaction was going to be hilarious, as it always was when she wore anything more revealing than usual. With a smile, she thanked Madame Wardrobe and flew down the hall to fix her hair and make-up.

* * *

Rei sat at the long table set up in the courtyard of Gladice's castle. Or rather, her parents' castle. He was one of the first few to arrive, which was not a bad thing in itself, except that he could smell the chefs preparing the food, and yet there was no food. He was starving, and he just wished everyone would hurry up and get there already. He had been coming to these things since he was seven. That was over half of his life. His sister, Kahyrat, didn't have to come. Why should he?

But he did not mind it so much as he had when he was little. This was where he had first met his best friend, Genevieve. Sure, it took a lot of effort to make her do _anything _fun, but it was sooo worth it when she did. He smirked as he devised a plan for what he would do when she got there. Maybe he would persuade her to sneak around the parts of the castle that were considered off limits. Or, better yet, sneak out of the castle grounds all together. "_Ahem,"_ came a small but stern voice behind him.

He grinned. "Oh hey Gen, I didn't expect to see you here!" he greeted sarcastically. The sound of her huffing made him imagine her annoyed expression.

"You're sitting in my seat, Rei." He put on an astonished expression and pretended to look closely at the name card in front of him.

"'Genevieve Fitzherbert'. Ah, so it is." The tan boy stood up and stretched his arms out. "So sorry, Miss. My mistake." He bowed, earning him a thwap on the head. "Ow! Hey!" Rubbing his head, he stood up straight again.

"Go on to your own seat, they're going to bring out the food soon," she commanded, just a hint of playfulness behind her tone. Rei laughed and extended his hand palm-up.

"Don't you want your bracelet back, first?" he teased when she grabbed it back from him. Tentatively, she pushed a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear. Her hair was the most interesting thing about her, Rei thought. As it cascaded into two long braids, it turned from brown to golden blonde. And it had the ability to _heal people._

"How do you do that without me knowing?!" Genevieve scrunched up her face and waved him away. "Explain it to me again, later." With one last grin, he complied and went to sit down at his own seat.

* * *

Later that day, Gladice tried to seem graceful in the uncomfortable heels her mother had forced her to where. Not that she had put up any fight, but in her head she was throwing a fit. _No matter,_ she thought, _It can't be that difficult. Rosette walks in heels all the time, so can I. _She reached the doors that led to the garden and made sure she had her balance, before opening the door and striding over to the table. Gracefully, she took her seat at the head of the table, silently relieved to get off her feet. Everyone else was already seated. Boys on the left, girls on the right, and little Angelica down at the foot of the table. Angelica was the youngest of all of them, at only five years old. She had the same beautiful golden hair as Lance, and she was pretty certain that he had said they got it from their mother. Well, whoever they'd gotten it from, Gladice didn't mind. It only helped to emphasize his gorgeous sighed dreamily, catching Rosette's attention. "Gladi? What's going on in that head of yours?"

Her eyes left Lance and found Rose. "Hm? Oh, nothing in particular..." she answered wistfully. Rosette caught on and dawned a concerned expression.

"Okay, this crush of yours has gotten way out of hand. I mean, he treats you like a sister, and..." The brunette lifted her hazel eyes to catch Gladice's. "I just don't want you to get hurt, is all."

Gladice laughed and waved a hand in dismissal. "Come on, Rose. We have major chemistry, and you of all people should be able to see that, what with the way you've all but married Evan, over here." She pointed a finger at Evan, to her left, whose dark skin was now a bright red. Rose looked like she was about to argue, but then a bell chimed in the distance.

A stuffy looking chef led a line of other, less stuffy looking chefs into the courtyard. "Lunch is served, your Highnesses." A chef stopped beside each person at the table, placed a silver tray in front of them, and lifted the lids to reveal a unique dish for each of them. For Gladice, it was Ratatouille, and she did not hesitate to dig in.

Evan and Rosette were talking and laughing. Gladice smiled at them. "So, you two, when's the wedding?" she teased. Evan's emerald eyes widened, but Rosette acted as if she had not even heard Gladice.

"Well, we're not just boyfriend and girlfriend, you know. We're good friends with a lot of things to talk about. Don't tease us for flirting, Gladi." Gladice rolled her eyes, snorting.

"I haven't got a problem with flirting. Flirting is what I live for." The girl looked around. People were beginning to make their ways to the smaller of the two ballrooms in her castle, and she noticed that in her eating frenzy, Lance had gone off. Presumably to the ballroom as well. Brook was gone, too. She had barely talked to Brook during lunch, so she would have to fix that later.

Excusing herself from the table, she stumbled the first few steps toward the ballroom, finally leveling out once she got the hang of it. The room wasn't too crowded, as there were only about a dozen people in it. But there was no sign of Lance. Angelica was running around with Jon, Kandell, and Ivory. Gladice lifted her skirt and walked over to their group. "Hello, Angelica. Do you know where your brother went." The little girl just stared at her for a while.

Finally, Kandell spoke up. "He went down there." She pointed to the nearest corridor, and Gladice nodded, strutting over there. Along the way, she stopped at a mirror to fix her hair. Once she had walked far enough, she began hearing talking and giggling. An eyebrow quirked up, and she peeked around the corner. The sight before her made her face flush with anger.

* * *

Lance had gotten just gotten up from the table to see that Brook had followed him. He looked at her, beautiful as ever. Although she was self-conscious about the skin condition that made half her face light, half her face dark, it just made her seem even more lovely. But it wasn't her looks that made him like her so much. It was _her._ The way she blushed at any stray compliment. How she seemed so in tune with everything around her. Her shy little habits that he took the time to memorize. If only she would just let him tell the whole kingdom how he felt... but she had insisted that their courtship remain a secret for the time being.

"Hey," he greeted, slowing to a steady stroll beside the short girl. "What's up?" Brook bit her lip and tugged at her dark brown hair.

"Can we go somewhere... private, to talk?" she whispered tentatively. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Okay, sure." He looked around the ballroom, and he spotted a corridor to their right. "Over here." Lance took her hand and tugged her over, surprised that she didn't object to the motion. Soon, they were off in an empty hallway, staring at each other. He cleared his throat. Brook flinched.

"R-right, um...I've been thinking. I saw the way Gladice was staring at you today, and... maybe we shouldn't keep this a secret, anymore. I don't want to lead her on." Her brown eyes darted to the ground.

Lance blinked, and a smile grew on his face. "Yeah, sounds great!" She shushed him, and they both giggled quietly. After a moment of hesitation, Lance began to lean in, wrapping his arms around Brook's waist. His lips had barely brushed hers, when-

"Two-faced jerk!" She was yelling at Brook. Gladice had fire in her eyes and her hands balled into fists. Lance stepped in front of Brook, who was trembling as though she were about to cry. "How _could_ you? You _knew_ that I liked him!" That was it. Brook ran off, crying as she went.

"Brook, wait!" Lance called, darting after her. It took a moment for Gladice to realize the weight of her own words. _Two-faced jerk..._ Brook's skin condition... She hadn't even remembered. Gladice buried her face in her hands. What had she done?

**SO? Did you like it? Did you not? Let me know by following, favoriting, and reviewing!**

**~Peace Out- Icee~**


	2. Alone- Part 2

**Well, after over two months of waiting, here it is. I'm sorry guys! There's just been a lot going on right now in my life, and I've had no time to spare. But now it's summer! and I'll upload waaay more often. So no worries! What are we waiting for? So, without further ado, here's chapter 2!**

After Gladice's ordeal with Brook and Lance, her stomach churned. She felt queasy and awful; but she wasn't sick. _No, I am sick. I'm a sick person. How could I? _Gladice was left to ponder at what Brook was doing. The events in the hallway led her to sitting in her room thinking about what a horrible queen she was going to be.

As for Brook, she took a carriage back to her home. Her mother made an attempt at comfort, but nothing seemed to be helping, and she couldn't stay there all day, since she had three other children to take care of besides Brook. "I'm going to go now, little Brook." As Pocahontas stood, her daughter's meek voice called out to her.

"Mother?" she asked. Her mother stopped and turned back.

"Yes, little Brook?"

"Are relationships always like this?" Pocahontas gave her a worried glance. "What I mean is, does it always come down to a choice? Love or friendship?" Brook bit her lip and looked expectantly up at her mother. All she got was a weary smile.

Finally, Pocahontas answered, "It is in my experience that every relationship you have is valuable, whether it a friendship or otherwise. If your friend does not approve of your boyfriend right away, give it time. If your boyfriend keeps you from your friends, then there is a decision to be made. But I believe you will be able to keep your friends if you are with Lance." With that, she left.

* * *

Lance had taken to fencing with his father, Phillip. It was not an unusual occurrence, but his father worried that the time he spent training was only a distraction. Philip was right. His son did not want to think about the situation. About how one of his best friends, who he'd come to think of as a sister, had such a crush on him that she would treat her friend so horribly over him. He hated himself, thinking that he was the cause of this. But he wasn't even sure if he could blame Gladice, to be honest. She reacted how she normally would have, because he was too blind to see the adoration she had always shown him. He was a fool for it.

Gladice spent nearly a week after the incident sulking in her room. She refused to speak. Barely ate. Hardly slept. She was not sure what exactly she was upset about, though. Was she really sorry for calling Brook that name and lashing out, or was she just sorry that she believed for one second that Lance would consider her anything more than a good friend? Her knees were tucked into her chest, when a knock came at the door. "Hello? Gladice?" a serene voice called. A very familiar voice...

Slowly, she moved to unlock and open her door, and instantly brightened. "Melody!" The raven haired girl smiled brightly back at Gladice. She let Melody in and gave her a hug.

"Thanks," sighed Gladice, "I really needed that."

"Rough week?" asked Melody.

"You heard?" Gladice averted her eyes, grimacing in guilt.

"Who didn't hear?" They shared a sympathetic look. "Do you... wanna talk about it?"

"Well...I-I don't want my mom barging in on us… not that she barges or anything..." Melody laughed.

"Why don't we lock the door, so she'll have to knock before entering." She stood up and locked the door. Gladice raised an eyebrow, but didn't object as she settled onto the bed. Sitting down beside her, Melody began rifling through her bag.

"I brought you something from Atlantis." Melody pulled a shiny seashell from her bag. Gladice looked inside and saw an inscription written inside. She read it aloud.

"I call upon thy ocean, to change the fates and sands of time for all eternity, until the meaning of true love is understood. What does that mean?" A wicked smile crossed Melody's face.

"Oh, you _stupid child,_" she spat, her voice growing deeper. "You shall soon see for yourself." Suddenly overcome by exhaustion, Gladice's head swam with confusion. The last thing she saw before passing out was veiny purple skin. _Ursula. _

* * *

_Alone. Weak. **Alone**_. Gladice awoke gasping for air. For a moment, she expected to see the familiar sway of her curtains, the outline of her grandfather clock. The clock that she so hated, and yet wanted so desperately to see. But no, instead she felt the cool night air blowing on her shoulders and heard the rustle of leaves above her. A forest. Of course, there were plenty of those where she lived, so that was no help at all. There was no time to dwell on that, though, because a low growl startled her into pushing herself off the ground. Her knees wobbled, and the growl got louder. A thin lion slinked toward her, the scar over it's eyes only faintly visible in the dim lighting. It eyed her hungrily, and it seemed to be in no hurry. _Why won't it just attack? _With her back pressed against a tree, the lion roared something similar to.. a laugh? She wasn't sure, but it confirmed one thing: she was its entertainment.

Once she was sure the lion was going to pounce, she shielded her head with her forearms. The impact never came, and when she dared to look back up, Kaise and Keung were tag-teaming the lion, switching a long branch between them and using it as a bow staff to throw it off. Keung managed to get in a good hit between the lion's shoulder blades, causing it to double over in pain. One more hit on its head knocked it unconscious. Kaise blew her bangs out of her eyes. Clearly, she was not pleased with having her clothing covered in mud. "I don't mind getting dirty, but did it _have_ to be the day I'm wearing my nice kimono?" she complained.

"You whine too much," Keung groaned. She stuck her tongue out at him and took Gladice's hand. "We have to hurry back to the camp. We don't want it waking up." Gladice nodded and went compliantly with the twins.

As they neared the camp, the eerie silence seemed an odd occurrence among the usually talkative group of young royalty. They reached the camp, but it did not feel right to call it a camp, since all it consisted of was a fire and the group surrounding it. It looked like there were only a few there. She spotted Brook and Angelica curled up against Lance. Evan sat with his arm around Rosette. It was such an awful realization, seeing them all there. None of them bothered to look up at her, except for Rosette, who merely pursed her lips and looked back down.Thalia brought Gladice a few berries and a cup of water, her flaming red hair frizzy from the humidity. She did not bother sitting next to any of her friends, instead looking around at the few others that joined them. Genevieve and Rei were there... Luke, it looked like? And, of course, those who she'd already seen.

That was it. They had nothing except each other. But that was enough to satisfy her, because they were all she needed.

**Well? Did you like it? Did you not? Let me know by following, favoriting, and reviewing!**

**~Peace out- Icee~**


	3. Pride

**Heloooooo people! So, here it is; chapter 3! You all have been so very supportive of this story, and I am happy to keep writing it. So, without further ado, here's chapter 3!**

Exhaustion felt like an unbearable weight on Gladice's shoulders. Daylight peeked in though the canopy above them, and this forest seemed unnaturally moist. She caught glimpses of exotic flowers as she dizzily sat up. Evan sat on a fallen log. He had offered to stand watch for the night, in case anyone else happened to show up during the night, although the dark circles under his eyes indicated that he desperately needed to sleep. Not that anyone else had slept. Gladice hadn't, and she doubted anyone had the ability to after the confusion of the night before. Offering a weary smile to Evan, she moved to stand up, but heard something crinkle under the folds of her silver dress.

After taking a moment to be sure no one was stirred by the noise, she lifted her skirt up and dug around in the leaves, until her fingers landed on a folded piece of paper that simply read _'__Find pride.' _Well, that wasn't at all ominous. She would have to tell the rest of the group, when they awoke, but... A frustrated sigh left her throat. That meant addressing everyone. Everyone who thought of her as worse than dirt.

* * *

Genevieve blinked at the sunlight above her. She sat with her back straight, afraid bending it would cause some serious medical problems. She had read it in a book, so it must have been true. Nearby, Rei was still asleep, or pretending to be, on his back. She grinned and pulled her pen from behind her ear, amazed she had not lost it in all the chaos. She took a moment to think back to what had happened before waking up in the jungle. Yes, a jungle, like the one's she had read about and even painted on occasion. But she failed to remember anything except that face. That wretched, wrinkly faced witch, who had insisted that she take the apple.

"Gah," she groaned, shaking the thought out of her head and shifting her focus back to Rei. The mischievous smirk crossed her face once more, and she scooted over to position the pen over his face, brushing a strand of hair from in front of her eye. Just as she touched the pen to below his nose, his hand shot up and grabbed her wrist. Genevieve gasped and yanked it back, scowling at the now laughing Rei.

"Gen, you really need to work on your stealth," he teased, and she rolled her eyes. Standing back up, she brushed off her dress, which was fraying at the bottom by that point. Reid stood as well, and they saw that they had managed to get the whole group up and at 'em. "Well, I guess that was enough sleep, anyways." The girl scoffed and turned away from him.

"Like you could do better..." she mumbled.

With everyone awake, Rosette suggested that they keep moving. Thalia disagreed. "Wha' if more show up? More little ones?" Rosette reminded her that the rest of them showed up within the span of an hour, and no one else had joined them within nearly four hours. Eventually, the debate got to a point so intense that Gladice had to step in between them.

"Enough! Look, I'm all for staying and hoping to get rescued, but we have to be proactive. All of us just sitting here is basically putting up a huge sign that reads 'Lion Food'. We need to go look for help ourselves." Everyone was silently staring at Gladice. That is, everyone except for Genevieve and Rei, both of whom were whispering to each other. Gladice cleared her throat. "I...I know I did and said some really stupid and hurtful things," she began, her voice shaky, "but I want you to know that I'm sorry. I am so sorry, Brook, Lance. I understand if you hate me now, but-"

"Gladice, we don't hate you." Brook's voice echoed through her ears like she'd just hit a gong. The small girl stepped forward, smiling weakly at her. "I forgive you." And that was all it took. Before she could question it, her body revolted against her, and she turned her head away from Brook. Her hand reminded her of the letter they held.

"Oh, I found this note. I'm not sure who it's from. It says 'find pride,' whatever that means." Rosette stepped beside her and read the note herself.

"Okay... so what is pride? It's an emotion...a flaw..." Rose murmured.

"A group of lions?" Genevieve suggested. All heads turned to her. Clearly, most of them had never heard her say so many words at once, some not at all. Even Rei was gawking at her. "I mean... We're in a jungle, so there might be a savannah nearby."

Reluctantly, Rosette nodded, obviously not enjoying the fact that she was not the one to come up with the solution. Slowly, head nodded in agreement around their little huddle. Thalia was the last one to nod, but she did not seem very happy about the course of action. "It's settled, then," concluded Evan. "Come on, we should head north." He pointed his finger to where they should go, and Brook chuckled.

"Actually," she corrected, "_that_ way's north." She pointed in the opposite direction, causing Evan to blush.

"Er, right... Let's get a move on, people! We are losing daylight." His light accent cracked as he immediately turned and started to walk in the direction Brook was pointing. Rolling her eyes, Rosette chuckled.

"He's really cute when he tries to be all 'outdoorsy', but honestly, he looks like an idiot," she whispered to Gladice, inciting a small smirk from the girl as the group followed.

* * *

They walked for what seemed like an eternity, before the greenery finally began to thin out into dusty ground and tall grass. Unfortunately, that meant their shade was gone, as well. The heat was sweltering, and it seemed to be taking a toll on Angelica. Lance took the little girl into his arms, so that she would not have to walk under the unbearable sun. Luke had an arm around Kaise's shoulders, while Keung gave them a death glare and insisted on walking behind them. Shrugging, Luke dawned a suave smile and ran a had through his midnight black hair. Keung hoped his fair complexion got burnt to a crisp. At one point, they got a little too close, and Keung forced himself between them, keeping them separated.

"_Ugh._ Keung, what's your deal?" Kaise shot her brother an annoyed glance, but he only shook his head.

"I just don't want you two to get that close to each other. I hear that's bad for your health." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm worried about you. You understand, right, Luke?"

Luke smiled innocently. "Of course. I, too, have a sister that I'm worrying about at the moment. I only thought that Kaise's presence might ease my mind, but I'll respect your wishes, friend." The three of them continued to walk in silence, Kai's face burning red.

Off in the distance, a tall, mountainous looking rock towered over the savannah. They all agreed upon that being their stopping point, and kept going in that general direction. An oasis reached them before the rock did, and they all refreshed their thirst, ignoring the already gathered gazelle at the watering hole. Everyone hesitated when Evan said they needed to get moving, but after a few groans, the group was off again.

The rock was more easily reach than they expected, and they decided that, instead of staying at the base of the rock, they would climb up to get a better view of their surroundings. Evan helped the girls climb the rock... well, all of them except Thalia, whom had insisted that she could scale the rock on her own. And, quite frankly, she scared him. It took no longer than ten minutes to reach the flat surface that jutted out over the savannah. Being the unofficial leader of the group, Evan hauled himself up first, afterwards tugging everyone else onto the rock beside him. By that time, the sun was setting, and they looked around themselves to see a cave carved in the rock. Brook, surprisingly, was the first of them who bravely crept over to examine it.

A tiny squeak escaped her at the sight of numerous lionesses prowling around the cave. _Of course._ How ignorant of them to think that the cave would actually be empty. One of them spotted her, and she ducked back out of her view and bumped into Gladice. "S-sorry... L-lions..." She pointed behind her, but the others were already staring at something. Cautiously, Brook turned around and froze. The lioness from before had left the den and was staring curiously at her. Her eyes darted to Lance, but he was far too exhausted from carrying Angelica to notice. She gulped, took a deep breath, and moved forward. Communicating with a lion wouldn't be too difficult, right? "Hello," she greeted with a wave. Her hands signed along with her words. "We are friends. We need a place to rest. My name is Brook. What is your name?" The words sounded terribly forced. That, however, was the best it was going to get. The lioness pulled her mouth into what seemed like a sharp-toothed grin and motioned for them to follow her inside with her head.

* * *

Melody blinked her eyes open. She was lying on something hard, and the ceiling looked like stone. Since when did her room look like that? It took a bit of effort to sit up, observing the walls as she did. "What...?" The reality sunk in that this was _not_ her room, or even her home. It was too hot, and everything was stone, and she recognized nothing. Then, it hit her. She remembered exactly how she'd gotten here. All she was doing was sitting in her room, when suddenly there was a crash. A lot of growling. The lion had gotten a swipe in at her back, and the pain reminded her that it was still there. Yes, she had managed to fling herself off of the balcony and into the ocean, but she could not recall how she had come to be in the place she was now.

Shadows filled the dim light coming in through a hole in the wall. A different lion poked its head in, considerably less menacing than the one who had attacked her, but still a lion. He growled something behind him, and she hugged her knees to her chest in anticipation. Yet.. a voice responded. A _human_ voice. Melody stared at the hole, until finally the lion stepped aside and revealed-

"Melody!" Gladice's voice echoed ominously in the small crevice where Melody laid asleep not five minutes earlier. Her eyes widened, her mouth opening as if she wanted to speak but found no words. "I'm so glad to see you!" Gladice made to run in for a hug, but Rosette grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"What if it's a trick?" she heard her whisper, and Gladice's face fell.

Deciding that these were, in fact, her friends and not hallucinations, Melody cleared her throat. "What... what are you all doing here? How did I get here?" She went to stand up, but found it to be exponentially harder than usual. Exactly how long had she been asleep? "And... what's with the lion?" It was just sitting there, watching them intently. His red mane fluffed out around his head.

"Er... This is Simba, and he says he found you in the savannah...I think..." Brook was speaking, and it was hard to make out her words through the mumbling. The short girl's eyes darted around to the others. "I don't know, guys... I think she's the real deal."

Gladice nodded shortly and shoved Rosette's hand off of her arm. "It's fine, Rose! This is Mel, I'm sure of it." Without waiting for a response, she ran forward and wrapped Melody in a hug, whom in turn began to form tears in her eyes. Sobbing, she hugged Gladice back, too many memories flooding her at once. _The ocean. Nearly drowning. Strangled by the sea witch. Dumped through a portal and left to die. _A hand rubbed her shoulder until she was unable to cry any longer.

Rosette furrowed her eyebrows and looked into Melody's sea blue eyes. "You might want to calm down, because there's a lot we need to tell you."

* * *

According to what Brook translated from the lion, Simba, Melody had been in the pride's care for two nights. The rest was explained by the ten of them, embelishments courtesy of Angelica. Melody only sat in silence as each of them explained what they remembered of their attack. Thalia bragged that she had put up the most fight, but she could have been exaggerating for all they knew. And her attacker had only been Mother Gothel, whom had no notable powers of any sort. Her flaming mess of red hair was matted together, and her curls had lost their charm with all the frizz they produced. Frustrated, she blew a tuft of hair from her eye. It was so infuriating to just sit there, but Evan had insisted that they all get a good night's rest in an at least somewhat safe place. And it was _boring._

That was, until a bright blue ball illuminated the den, stopping in front of Melody. Thalia had to squint to make sure that it was a pixie, not a wisp. Melody cocked her head to the side. "A water sprite? What are you doing here?" The fairy waved, and a pigeon flew down with a basket on its back. "What's this?" Reaching inside, she found that the basket contained her shell necklace, that she loved so dearly, and a noted signed by her parents. It read: _Pixie dust infused with your necklace. Place in water for portal to Overworld. -Mom and Dad. _A hand shot to her mouth, and she hardly noticed the pixie fly off.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Gladice asked, scooting forward. Melody stared at her necklace, then at the note, and held them up for everyone to see.

"It's from my parents."

Gladice shook her head. "No, that's... it can't be..." Melody's face wore a growing smile.

"But it is! This is my mom's handwriting, and she sent it with one of the bay sprites that live near our castle," her voice had a determination to it that made Rosette's face grow weary.

"Now, Mel, let's be rational-"

"There's only one way to find out, I suppose." Even though Rose reached a hand to stop her, Melody had already unlatched her necklace and was placing it in a puddle of water outside the cave. A blazing blue flash lit up the entrance to the cave, and the lions began growling at the sudden change. Without a second thought, Melody jumped into the portal.

_"Melody!"_ Rosette called, but to no avail. Gladice went in seconds after, urging an exasperated groan from Rose. "You two could be sisters! _You never think before you act!"_ Evan put a reassuring hand on Rosette's shoulder before entering as well. One by one, the group walked through the light, Rosette being the last to go.

* * *

Once they had gone, Simba and Kovu had gone to the outlands to retrieve what had been taken from their pride. It was still nighttime, and shadows cloaked the land in darkness.

"Well?" said a sly growl. Out of the shadows stepped Scar, followed by Zira.

"They went to somewhere called the Overworld." Simba spat looking up at their enemies. Kovu bared his fangs. "Now, where is Kion?"

"Your son is right here. Zira?" The lioness turned and showed Simba the small cub. "You can keep him, for now." Simba growled and Scar laughed. Taking his cub, the three went back to the cave.

**So? Did you like it? Did you not? Let me know by Following, Favoriting, and Reviewing!**

**~Peace out- Icee~**


	4. Overworld

**Hellloooooo Icee Lovers! Okay, so I'm still editing this story, but the new chapter should be up by Saturday or Sunday! So excited! Anyways, without further ado, here's chapter 4!**

Lance went through the portal before Angelica, just to be sure it was safe. Though, he had not thought far enough in advance to think of how he would actually let her know it was okay once he got through. However, he had more pressing matters on his hands. Like the fact that he had landed on top of Gladice. His face flushed, and she gasped. Scrambling to his feet, he reached a hand out and helped her to her feet. "S-sorry," he stuttered.

"N-no, it's fine." Through the dim lighting, he noticed that she, too, was blushing. "Where are we?" she blurted.

"Uhm... a forest?" he suggested, noting the trees surrounding them. Gladice rolled her eyes and gave him a mocking smile.

"Wow. I'm talking to a genius," she stated, her tone laced with sarcasm. "And here I was, thinking we were in a desert." Laughing, he threw his hands up in mock defense. _This_ was the Gladice he knew. Sarcastic, funny, and oddly...pretty, in the moonlight dipping through the treetops. Lance turned away and rubbed his neck.

"Would you two stop flirting and acknowledge my existence, please?" Melody's voice startled them both, though Lance was not sure why. She had been the first one through the portal, of course she was going to be there.

Gladice gaped at her, clearly more shocked than him at her sudden appearance. There was something else hidden in her features... annoyance? Though he could not quite tell, he was thankful that Melody had interrupted their awkward little conversation. But there was still something he needed to say. Without warning, he placed a hand on Gladice's shoulder, leaned forward, and whispered, "I'm sorry for being so hard on you." Immediately, he pulled away, leaving Gladice frozen in place.

Suddenly, Evan came through the portal, followed immediately by Thalia carrying Angelica, then Luke, then Kaise and Keung. Rei came through with Genevieve minutes later, the two linked arm-in-arm. Finally, Rosette stumbled into the forest, placing her hands on a tree trunk to steady herself. Even though she seemed composed, she had clearly never gone through a portal before, because her orientation was very obviously not all there. When she tried standing without support, Evan put his hands on her shoulders to help her balance. Even still, she managed a glare at Melody. "Do you realize that you could have very well put all of us in danger?" she snapped.

Melody huffed and stuck her nose up at Rose. "Well, we're all here, aren't we? We haven't been attacked, yet."

_"Yet."_ Rosette rubbed her temples. "In any case, we need to keep moving. Sitting here is just begging to get killed." Evan nodded in agreement, and looked expectantly at Brook to give him a direction.

After looking at the stars through the thick forestry, she pointed to the right. "North." With that, Evan helped Rosette through the vegetation, while the others followed. Lance took Angelica back into his arms and thanked Thalia profusely forgetting her through the portal.

"Tank you Talia!" Angelica told the girl, pulling on one of her flaming curls and giggling when it bounced.

Thalia grimaced at the touch. "Eh, don' mention it, lass. It was nothin'." The golden-haired girl beamed at her, and she slowly walked farther apart from them, afraid Angel would begin poking her freckles again. _Ugh. Kids._

* * *

About an hour after they had started walking, Rei was starving. They had eaten some meat shortly before the whole portal fiasco, but he was wondering if it had even had any effect on him. He peered over at Genevieve and wondered if 'curing hunger' was included in her hair's weird powers. "Psst, Gen," he whispered. She looked at him out the corner of her eye, dropping her hands from where they had been diligently braiding a strand of her hair.

"What?" she responded, her eyes darting back to the forest ahead of her.

"I'm hungry," he said, as if he were going to die from it. Scoffing, Genevieve balled her hands into fists and fixed them on her hips.

"And just what do you want me to do about that?" she demanded, her left eyebrow twitching. "Heal your stomach?" When he actually nodded, she shook her head. "You are such an idiot, sometimes. Hunger isn't something I can heal, Rei." Gen smirked. "Besides, we ate before we got here.

"It must have been fake meat, because that did absolutely nothing to satisfy me." Rolling her eyes, Genevieve glanced over at her friend once more.

"I don't think s-" Her sentence was cut short, when Thalia suddenly stopped, causing her to bump into the taller girl's back. Somehow she had missed the burning bush of hair quit moving. Thalia barely turned around to see who had bumped into her.

"Sorry, lass. Guess I should've warned ya'," she apologized, but her focus was on something in front of her. "Somethin's happened." Indeed, something _had _happened. Lance had just fallen upon a strange stone pathway cutting through the forest with Angelica in his arms. The exhaustion on his face was as evident as the horror in realizing that he had dropped his little sister on to the hard ground. Brook picked up Angelica, and thankfully she seemed okay, though she was no longer awake, and a red patch was forming on her forehead. Gladice had bent down to help Lance up, which he did, after several attempts. Genevieve wasted no time in scurrying up to where Lance was. "Here, take a piece of my hair," Gen instructed, taking one of her longer layers and gently wrapping it around Angelica's head. Singing the song with everyone staring at her proved to be harder than she had anticipated, but still she managed to fix up Angel's head and Lance's exhaustion. But something was still..._off,_ about the tiny girl, though she could not quite place it. Two lights shined through the fog, heading straight for the group, the shadow behind them turning into a strange machine.

"What is that?!" Gladice asked worriedly. The thing was slowing to a stop on the stone pathway, so it was not going to run them all over.

"It's a car," Evan and Rosette answered in unison. They were in abundance where he lived, and Rose often visited, so of course she would have seen them, too. But there was confusion on their faces, because this car was quite different from the ones in New Orleans, nor was it like any carriage they had in Maldonia. Finally, the thing stopped mere feet in front of them. A large woman stepped out of the car, marching over to their group. Brook moved instinctively behind Lance, and Thalia opted for a more defensive stance.

"Now who might you all be? This is private property!" The woman spoke with a thick Welsh accent, and everyone stared at Evan, whom was too busy studying the car. Instead, Rosette was the one who began speaking.

"Well, uh, Miss, you see-" She was cut off by a voice coming from the car.

"Mum? Everythin' okay?" The window rolled down to reveal a teenage boy with curly brown hair. "What's goin' on?"

"Not a clue, James. Not a clue."

**Sooo? Did you like it? Did you not? Let me know by following, favoriting, and reviewing!**

**~Peace Out- Icee~**


	5. Nightmares

**Okay, so pretty pretty please do NOT hate me. I am really sorry it's been so long, but I've worked really hard on this and the next few parts, so I'll be updating faster from now on. But hey! If ****anybody here has ever been in band in high school, you know what it's like. Anyways, I'm rambling now. So, without further ado, here's chapter 5!**

_Gladice could not see anything. It was all black, and she seemed to be the only light source, oddly enough. However, with each step she took, her light grew a little dimmer, until it was pitch black all around. She stopped walking, not even sure why she had been walking in the first place. Wasn't she with a group? Where were her friends? "Gladice?" called a feminine voice behind her. The darkness melted into a forest, and Gladice looked for whomever had called her name. Then, she spotted it. The outline of her mother standing in the shadows behind the thick brush of trees. Words formed in her mouth, but they would not come out, no matter how much she willed them from her throat. Her mother stepped forward, and Gladice stumbled back. Yes, it was Cinderella, but a ghastly, decomposing version of her. "Gla-dice..." Then, her mother's skin ripped off onto the ground, revealing thousands of bugs and maggots in the shape or where her body should have been. Gladice screamed and fell backwards. She blinked once. Twice. On the third time, a walking sack-skinned monster stood where the bugs had been only moments ago. It was laughing a hardy laugh. "Oh, Gladice! Gladice!" it mocked. "You ought to know that I'm the one in charge of this nightmare. And here, in your mind, you're on your own."_

"No!" she gasped, jolting awake. Panting, her eyes made her way around the tiny living room, where she and the other nine had been cramped to sleep in for the night. Gladice thought back to how they had gotten there, memory replaying in her head several times so she would have a good grasp on reality.

* * *

**Flashback**

James stared at the group of, not one, not two, but _ten_ strangers whom they had seen on the side of the road. His mother was currently inspecting the pretty girl that had tried to speak before he interrupted her. He might have been a tad embarrassed by that, but...

"Wait, you're Belle's girl, yeah?" The pretty brunette just stood there for a moment, and then slowly nodded her head. "Well, why didn't ya say so? Oh, one second." His mother gave him the signal, and he tapped the watch in its center, setting it to 'undisguised.' Their group watched in amazement as the plump, older woman morphed into a slender young lady, her long brown hair had changed into a clean ginger bob, and her blue eyes turned a shade lighter. "Now then, that should fix things up a bit." His mother's voice was no longer an odd, lispy Welsh, but instead a crisp British accent. "I am Jane Darling, and this is my son, James." It felt nice to have his bright ginger bangs halfway covering his eyes, the natural straightness of it giving him comfort.

"Did you use a Genetic DNA Disguiser? How did you get one?" Rosette blurted out. Jane raised an eyebrow, and Gladice nudged her in the elbow, prompting a sheepish grin from her friend's face. Rose cleared her throat and tried again. "My name is Rosette, daughter of King Adam and Queen Belle of the Enchanted Woods. My friends around me are also royalty. A lot has happened, and-"

"We know. We were paid a visit by her Highness, Princess Anna of Arendelle," Jane explained. "We certainly have a lot to talk about. Oh, and this is actually a Portable Exterior Modification Vessel. Let's me take the form of anything of anyone I'd like."

"Right, um, could you explain to us what exactly is going on here?" Lance asked, a twinge of impatience reverberating in his tone.

"Of course. You see, my son and I are portal guards. We regulate any and all portal usage. When you all crossed dimensions, our scanners went livid, so we came to investigate. Which reminds me: You're going to have to tell us who or what gave you permission to use an unauthorized portal into the Overworld." The lady crossed her arms, waiting for the explanation.

"I- uh, this is probably going to take a while… so could we go someplace safer?" Evan asked, glancing around at the very open space that they wherein now. Cautiously, Jane nodded her head, and motioned something to her son. James pulled out a small button, and Rosette had to strain to see that it contained a sparkling substance inside of it.

"Right, then, everyone gather round," he told them. Complying, the group made a compact circle around James, with Gladice being the closest one to him, so she avoided any eye contact. "Alright! One, two..." As soon as he pressed the button, a whirlwind of purple pixie dust surrounded the group. It dissipated just as quickly as it had come, and they found themselves in front of a dainty English townhouse.

"Welcome to our home. Please, watch your step," Jane announced. One by one the group of young royals entered the home, which was a relief to Gladice, since she was longer smushed up against James, whom was surprisingly about her height. Jane told Brook to leave Angelica on the couch in the puny living room, then insisted that Rei and Genevieve stay there with her. Rei looked ready to object, but Gen held him back. The ginger guided the rest of them into the even smaller kitchen, where she leaned against a counter and crossed her arms. "Okay, I only need to know how in the world you all managed to find means to a portal to the Overworld, of all places." Rosette was the one who did the explaining, with help from Evan every now and then: first about how they all blacked out; then the lions; then Melody; then the pixie dust portal. Gladice made sure to show Jane the note, Lance brought up Angelica's condition, , and all the while Jane patiently listened to their story.

"So, you see, we are in kind of a bind. We have nowhere else to go. Please, say you'll help us," Rosette pleaded, once they had finished. The dark rings under her eyes made it clear that she had not slept since long before they had been sent from their homes. Jane nodded her head at Rosette's statement, cupping her cheek with one hand.

"Of course, dear. I am so sorry that this has happened to you all. James?" The young teenager met his mother's gaze."Please see if you can find the extra blankets. I think they are in the spare closet upstairs." After James ran off to find the blankets, Jane turned her head to the group. "You may stay here for as long as you need to. I'm afraid that we don't have a guest room at the moment, so you'll just have to sleep in the living room for right now." Jane looked at her watch. "Mercy! It's nearly midnight. Go on to bed, all of you!" They slowly crept out of the cramped room and into the living room. James was handing out blankets and a few pillows. Rei and Genevieve were spreading out blankets on the floor, and they looked hopefully up at everyone as they came into the living room. Lance and Brook curled up together under the blanket next to the couch, where Genevieve was sitting there with Angelica, being the only small enough to actually lie down with her.

Gladice couldn't help but smile a sad smile, knowing that she had been living a lie about love for her whole life. How would she even know love when she _did_ experience it? Sighing, she lied down under a blanket and shared it with Thalia, steadily drifting off to sleep.

**Flashback Over**

* * *

It was then when Gladice had that horrible nightmare. Normally, the nightmare was just, well, a nightmare, and she could convince herself that it was only in her imagination. This time, however, it felt more realistic than ever, and she wondered if that might have been because she remembered more of her dream in vibrant detail. A shiver ran down her spine. Slowly, Gladice stood up and shook her head, as if she could shake the dark away. She dug through her mind to remember where the kitchen was, but there was no need to look for long, because the light was already on in the room down the narrow corridor. Curious as to why someone (besides herself) would be awake at… Gladice glanced at the clock, and chuckled when she read 3 am. Clearly, three hours of sleep was all her body thought she needed at the moment. Being her clumsy self, she stumbled through the kitchen door, right into someone stumbling out. Something cold and wet spilled on her already ruined dress, and she looked up to see who else had been knocked onto the floor

"I- er, I'm sorry, I mean, uh, well…" James' voice trailed off and they stared at each other for a moment. And then Gladice started giggling, while James gave her a confusing look. "S-sorry, Princess."

"Don't apologize, I ran into you. Although, in my defense, I'm kind of still asleep," Gladice sighed, smiling at James, "and so are you, by the looks of it!" At this point, James was chuckling, too. "Oh, and cut the 'princess' stuff. Too formal. Just call me Gladice."

"Right. Gladice." He smiled embarrassedly, and helped her to her feet. "So you aren't mad? I mean, I think i ruined your dress." He looked at the slashed and dirty dress. He was barely able to tell that it was blue. "But, uh, I think I did you a favor." They both softly laughed. James bent and picked up the fallen plastic cup he had dropped on the floor.

"So, I haven't really met you yet. What do you call yourself?" Her hand extended out to him, which James shook gratefully.

"I'm James. I suppose it _is_ about time we met. You _are_ living here now." Gladice stopped grimaced. She would have rather believed that no, they were not living there, but who was she kidding? They had no idea where any of there parents were, and even if they did, how could they help them? So James was right; she was living there. "Gladice? Look, I'm so sorry, I just- it sorta, I mean, I didn't mean it, honestly." A chuckle left her lips at his stammering.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, I'm fine. I actually wanted to hear _your_ story." Gladice leaned against the counter, and was joined by James.

"Really?" Gladice nodded as she grabbed a napkin to wipe herself off. "Okay, well, growing up was pretty normal, up until I got to be about twelve. That was when my grandmother died, and my mom was super sad, as to be expected. Before that, my mom's friend, Peter, was the portal guard. But, uh, after my Grandmother, he gave up his youth and has lived here in London ever since. That's why my mom stepped up, dragging me along with her. She had to quit her job, start drinking youth water; she's gonna put me on it when I get a bit older. We used to live in a big house in the country, but now we live here. Sometimes I wish she could do things… differently. You know, I-" He was cut off by something else against his lips. One of her fingers had shot up to stop his talking. The princess was alarmingly close, now, but he did not pull away when she crept a little closer. James could not take it any longer, and he gave her a gentle peck on the lips. But his eyes widened and he pulled back.

"Oh- oh my goodness. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You're a princess and I shouldn't hav-" Gladice repaid him with the same gentle peck, and he melted. Nothing could ruin this moment. _Nothing… _

A high pitched scream echoed around the tiny house, and the pair were startled from their moment, Gladice unable to help the blush on her cheeks. The ear-piercing, gut wrenching scream kept on, and they instantaneously rushed to the living room, where they saw an awful sight before them.

**OOOOOOHHHHHH! Yeah, okay. I'm a jerk. But do I care? Kind of- I mean, no! Anyways, I'm writing a different series based on these OCs, basically one shots about their lives before this mess. So check it out if your interested! Also, I'm still looking for cover art. Seriously people, there are no rules! Just send your art to me, and I'll make it the cover. Okay, now I'm rambling again.**

**Peace Out! ~Icee~**


	6. Underworld

**Hello, everyone! Oh my gosh, I'm a terrible person. I think we have established this already, though. So, without further ado, here's chapter 6!**

Blue flames rose up to ceiling, just transparent enough to see what they surrounded. Hades, god of the underworld, was forcing Angelica's soul from her body, while Genevieve, the only other behind the wall of fire, sang so loud that it was more like shouting. The golden tips of her hair shimmered, blocking Hades from getting the little girl's soul much farther than a few inches. With a menacing yell, the fire atop his head turned red with anger, and he conjured up a small object, throwing it so that it pierced Genevieve's neck. She yelped and fell backwards, allowing Hades to take Angelica's soul and disappear along with the wall of fire. Lance, who had been struggling to get through, knelt beside his sister's unconscious body. "Angel? Angelica?!" Brook bent down to examine her as well, while Rosette looked over Genevieve instead, whom had a hand hovering above where the thing had hit her. Rei sat down beside her, allowing her to lean on him. The rest stayed back, afraid to crowd the scene.

"Those bastards..." Lance whispered through the lump in his throat. He had failed her. His beautiful sister that had been so supportive of him, so wise for a girl of five-years-old. Jane, who had rushed downstairs to see the spectacle, put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

She hesitated, before taking a deep breath. "It isn't too late. I know someone who may be able to help you get your sister back." Lance's eyes dried almost instantly as he stood up and grabbed Jane by her shoulders, a little too forcefully.

"Who?! Who is it?!" he demanded. James ran over to them and forced Lance to let go of his mother.

"Hey, stop it! Don't grab my mum like that, do you hear me?" Reluctantly, Lance ran a hand through his hair and nodded shortly. Turning, James pleaded with his mother. "If you know how to help them, mum, I want to be a part of it. They obviously aren't safe here, or anywhere for that matter." Still shaken from being grabbed, Jane cautiously continued speaking.

"My old friend, Alice, can get you to the Underworld. She has... um...experience with rabbit holes," she explained, rubbing her shoulders. She turned to face James. "As for you, sir, if you really want to help, you can get Angelica, Genevieve, and Rei safely over to Peter's house."

James opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it. Rosette interrupted the conversation with a shaky tone. "I'm afraid I've got some more bad news." Rei was pale as he watched Genevieve, trying not to imagine the worst for his friend. "That dart Hades shot at Genevieve was a necromancy dart. If we don't get Hades to take the poison out of her, Genevieve will..." She could not finish.

"Gen what?" Rei asked, his voice smaller and drained of its usual mischief. Rosette shook her head, and he buried his face in Genevieve's hair. This was not okay. He was _not _going to lose his friend.

Lance intervened. "But that's not going to happen. We're going to get both of them back." He started looking around at everybody in the room. "Okay. So we've settled who's going and who isn't, correct?" James nodded, and picked up Angelica in his arms.

"Can you help her stand?" James asked Rei, whom was hesitant, but he eventually stood up with Genevieve. With a sharp nod, James led them out the front door. Gladice heard the car start outside and drive off.

Jane stopped the rest before they could follow. "You must be dense if you're thinking of going out there without proper supplies. Come on," she instructed, leading them down a corridor, into an old door on the left. Stopping in front of a door, she thought about all the times she had sworn she would never use it. But now, she thought it was for the best. When she flipped up the light switch, the room illuminated, revealing countless weapons and armor lining the walls. "Each of you choose one weapon and one piece of armor. I'll be waiting in the front."

They instantly started rummaging around, trying to find just the right gear to suit their needs. Gladice ended up choosing a medium length silver sword, with a pair of lightweight, but durable, iron boots. Lance grabbed a longer, ebony-handled sword, and a bulky chestplate. Rosette chose a crossbow, with an adjustable quiver, along with a bronze helmet. Evan took a pirate pistol, and a few pouches of gun powder, and pieces of leather armor to cover his arms and knees. Melody decided on two metal gauntlets with retractable knives. Brook didn't feel entirely comfortable with weaponry, so she picked out a golden shield, with a light chestplate. Thalia easily took one of the few war axes and dawned a Norse helmet. As the small group exited, Jane mentally critiqued their choices. But she said nothing, and instead gave them directions to Alice's home in the countryside. "You won't be able to use any more pixie dust," she explained. "They can track it too easily. And James took the car, so you're going to have to walk. to the bus stop." Sighing regretfully, she sent them out into the streets.

* * *

Even with assistance from the bus, took at least three hours to reach the small house, and everyone was exhausted by the time Alice answered the door. The distance from her home to the bus stop was so ridiculously far, Brook was surprised no one had passed out. Alice gasped at the sight of the sagging group of teens. "Goodness, you all look exhausted! Jane told me you would be stopping by, so before you go, please, drink some rejuvenation potion, please. You will fill so much better. I'll prepare the rabbit hole." Each of them gratefully sipped the refreshment, and their strength was replenished. Brook relished the tasty liquid, risking a smile at Lance, but he did not notice, and she pouted slightly. Moments later, Alice had returned. "Right, then. Everyone into the garden. The rabbit hole is between the roses and the tulips. Oh! And, do try to be quiet. My sons and daughter are sleeping." They thanked her, and walked out the back door.

Walking through the garden was like a maze. Finding the roses proved to be a challenge; everywhere they turned there seemed to be a dead end. Brook eventually spotted the tiny hole, and it was… disappointing. Instead of a shining or magnificent or big entrance, it really was just an ordinary rabbit hole. Actually, that made sense, the more she thought about it. "Are… are ya sure this'll take us to the underworld?" Thalia asked hesitantly, clearly not convinced.

Lance shrugged and bent down to crawl into the tiny hole. He was about to push himself out, but a strange sort of wind was pulling him down further. He had to use every ounce of self control to prevent himself from screaming. The only sound was a tiny squeak Brook let out as the hole swallowed him. "W-well, let's not keep him waiting," Brook stated. The others followed Lance's example single file, each of them seeing mysterious floating objects as they fell.

After falling for what seemed to be an eternity, the group finally found themselves stranded on a large platform above a sea of souls, their wails the only noise in the enormous cavern. There were similar platforms scattered around, each looking bare and undesirable. A large castle-like building stood in the center, towering over the sea of death.

"That's where we need to go. We have to move fast, or else we may never find your Angelica's soul," Rosette stated. Lance nodded, and the group made their way down some old stone steps that led to a decrepit boat on the river of the dead, with a ghastly figure holding the oar. The figure held out one bony hand, and Kaise, the only one of the with money, gave it eight golden coins. It dropped them off at the bottom of the castle-like structure, and Galdice furrowed her eyebrows. The walls were beginning to fade, and she was walking forward for some reason. Her friends were shouting, but she could not tell why. All she knew was that she had to keep going forward.

**Well? Did you like it? Did you not? Let me know by following, favoriting, and reviewing! Also, I have some news. If you would like to see images based on this story, please visit this link to my deviantart account: ** . **Yay!**

**~Peace Out- Icee~**


	7. Goddess

**Helloooo everyone! So, I'm done with editing, and we are now back to new chapters that update on a regular basis. Woohoo! So, without further ado, here's chapter 7!**

Gladice saw the green orb in the distance, and it was so _tempting_ to reach out and touch it. So why would her hand not go ahead and do that? It was like some invisible force was keeping her from her desire. Frustrated, she turned around and saw a bunch of ghosts crowded around her, their transparent figures sticking out against the black. She felt obligated to protect the beautiful green orb, therefore compelling hero attack the ghosts. With a loud war cry, she lurched at the ghost nearest to her, which did not put up much of a fight. This was going to be too easy.

Brook yelped when Gladice jumped on her. Screaming at the top of her lungs, the girl clawed at Brook's shield, and the petite girl was sure that it was going to break under Gladice's weight. "Help me!" she managed to shout, but everyone was gone, even Gladice. In their places stood pale white ghosts. Panicking, Brook threw punch after punch at the one on top of her, desperate to get the thing off of her. Infinitely grateful that Jane had allowed them to change into some random clothes instead of remaining in their formal wear, Brook plunged her knee into the ghost's torso, sending it flying off of her.

Lance was prepared to launch himself into the fray as well. But Rosette yanked him back by his collar. He glared back at her, but she was pointing at something on Gladice. Upon closer inspection, he was able to make out a beetle on the base of her neck, with a dozen smaller ones surrounding it. "Scarabs," she whispered to him. "If we come into contact with either of them, those bug's will attach to us, too." He groaned, staring at the two of them hopelessly.

"So what do we do?" Rosette struggled to think of a way to help their friends, but she could come up with nothing.

"Maybe we could... well, no... but what if..." Her frustration became evident in her hazel eyes, a hand flattening on her forehead. Lance looked to the others pleadingly, and he was genuinely surprised when Luke was the one who stepped forward.

"I think the choice should be quite clear," he stated boldly. His hand gestured to the girl behind him, and Keung tensed. "Raise has the quickest and lightest touch out of all of us. Someone just needs to go be bait, so that they'll be distracted long enough for her to pull the scarabs off of them. Easy."

Keung shook his head. "Absolutely not. That is way too dangerous."

"I'll do it," Kaise huffed rebelliously. Luke smiled at her, then at Keung.

"Well then, if no one objects, I suppose I will be the bait." Everyone except Keung nodded, and rage filled his darkened irises. Taking a deep breath, Luke ran between the two girls, getting a weak punch from Brook, followed by a swift kick to the jaw from Gladice. She had him pinned to the ground, repeatedly sending her fists into his face, until he was sure that he was going to be knocked out cold. Keung, of course relished in Luke's agony. After what seemed like hours, Gladice froze, blinking and staring at him with a dazed expression. Behind her, Kaise stood with a crushed scarab in her hand. Instead of oozing bug guts everywhere, it was sparking and frizzing. It was a machine. "Good job, Kai! I knew you could do it." Kaise pushed a lock of short black hair behind her ear, glaring at her brother off to the side.

"Luke, what...?" Gladice stood up, rubbing her head. Brook was rubbing her head as well. Crushing the main bug on Gladice must have shut down the one on Brook, too. Lance was helping her to her feet, and Rosette tapped her foot.

Evan motioned them forward, cautioning them about the importance of being aware of their surroundings. Once they entered the castle, it was a battle. Lance and Keung went on ahead to clear the way. Earlier, Ke had chosen a katana and a samurai helmet to enter the Underworld yet. Evan and Luke stayed in the back to fight any battles that there was no time to finish. Luke's face was bleeding, but he insisted that he could keep fighting. Lance got a few cuts on his right arm, and Evan got an arrow shot through his calf. By then, however, the group must have been close enough to the center of the palace, where Hades supposedly sent the souls he took personally. They entered the room, Rosette using the map she had laid out in her head to guide them to the correct door. Inside, there was the pool of souls, but there was also a cage dangling above it. A slender, girl whose curves stood out in the green dress that was draped over her body. "Well, it's about time someone showed up," she said, a dry humor in her voice.

* * *

Rei sat on the couch in Peter's condo, staring at his best friend, at the light draining from her eyes with every single moment. He rubbed her shoulder. "Gen?"

"Hm?" she responded, looking at the ceiling with a bored expression. He grimaced at how still she was, how calmly she treated the situation.

"You do realize that you could die, right?" Still, there was no emotion on her face. It was just... blank. She nodded her head, not looking back at him. "But you're not going to, right? You wouldn't do that to your best friend." To this, she had no response. Genevieve merely stayed on her back staring at the ceiling, her chest barely rising and falling. Rei furrowed his eyebrows. _"Right?"_ he asked again, prompting a sigh from the unmoving girl. Well, that was better than nothing. "Hey, you know how you always talk about going to see those art museums they have in the Overworld? Well, we're here! And when you get better, I promise we'll go and see all of them, okay?" A ghost of a smile passed over her lips, but she did not say anything. Distraught, he took one of her hands into both of his, rubbing her palms, coarse from years of crafting and sculpting. "Please, Gen," he begged, his voice cracking. "I can't lose my best friend." Tears poured from his eyes, and he cried into her palm. What if this was the end for them? What if they didn't have any time left to spend together? What if he was going to lose his best friend?

* * *

Aspasia had been in that stupid cage for so long, she was beginning to consider taking Isokrates up on his offer. "Yuck," she thought aloud, hoping the bratty teen heard her. She noticed the black flames atop his head steam a little and smirked.

"Whaddaya mean, 'yuck'?" he demanded, glaring at her.

"What, you want me to spell it out for you?" Clearing her throat, Aspasia annunciated every syllable. "You are disgusting, and I would never marry you in a million years, you disgusting pig." A shred of pride came from that last part, and she wore a smug look on her face when his cheeks flushed a faint red. "I'll tell you what the problem is," she continued on, nonchalantly. "You're too much like your old man. Hades? He's the biggest pig of them all. Now, your _mother_, on the other hand, is pretty cool. I like Persephone, I really do. So, you know, be more like her." Isokrates scoffed.

"Do not tell me how to act, mortal." Aspasia tapped a finger on her cheek.

"Actually, I'm a goddess. Get your facts straight, Iso," she corrected. Her smile made her look as if she were playing a game. When Isokrates shot her a glare, she just grinned at him and wiggled her fingers. Before he could respond, the door to the room burst open, and eight teens filed in, one after another. They did not all seem to notice her quite yet. "Well, it's about time someone showed up." Startled, the few who had not yet seen her looked up in awe. Recognizing Li Keung, she flashed him a grin and winked, causing his face to turn a bright shade of red. After a few moments, she raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so were you planning on getting me down, first, or getting Iso out of the way? I'm personally okay with either one."

"Who's Iso?" asked a brunette with a crossbow.

Aspasia stuck her thumb out to the left. "The angry looking son of death over there." She shrugged, sitting down cross-legged on the floor of her cage. "That's okay, I'll just wait for you to get acquainted. Go ahead." With a wave of her hand, Keung nodded and turned to face Isokrates.

Iso scowled at the newcomers, straightening his posture to seem taller than he really was. "Here are our demands," started Keung, always straight to the point. "We get Aspasia and a soul out of the pool."

"And what do I get in return?" snarled Iso, and Aspasia's eyes sparked with a plan. She claimed herself to be the goddess of illusion; time to put that to work. Now, what would the signal be...

_"Your life." _Ah, there it was. Her blue eyes lit up, and she made Isokrates see the most gruesome death by Keung's katana she could imagine. Iso cringed, and for a moment, the slightest bit of fear showed on his face.

The vision of his death replayed over and over again until he finally shouted through clenched teeth, "Alright! Fine! You can have whatever you want!" Aspasia smirked and released his thoughts. "But I have one more demand." Keung quirked an eyebrow, but allowed him to speak. "I want you to take me with you, wherever you're going." Oh? Now, that was strange. She did not trust a bit of what he was saying, so she reached into his mind once more.

"Why? So you can sell us out?" Kaise snapped, demanding as ever.

"I don't want to live down here anymore. I hate it more than you can imagine, and I'd rather force myself to be-ugh-_good_, rather than spend the rest of my immortal life in this place." He was telling the truth; Aspasia could sense it. That was strange, though not as much as she would have thought. It was understandable that one would not like to spend their entire life in darkness.

Keung cast a hesitant glance up at her, and she nodded. "Alright," he agreed. The dark-skinned boy whispered something to Keung, no doubt questioning his answer. He whispered something back, and the other backed away once more. "Can you get her down?" he asked, pointing a finger at her cage. Standing, Aspasia placed her hands on her hips. There was only one way she was getting down, so she would have to be ready to take her goddess form.

"But of course," Isokrates replied smoothly. With a snap of his fingers, the cage disappeared. Rather than fall into the pool of souls, Aspasia remained suspended in midair. Her green dress was now a shimmering rainbow of light, her brown hair lengthened to past her waist. A gasp from one of the girls made her smirk.

"Thanks. I get it from my dad's side." Gracefully, she floated down to inches above the water. "You said that you needed a soul?"

"My sister," blurted out the blonde boy. "Angelica. She's got short hair and wears a long-sleeved dress and-"

"I see her." Even in the deathly blue glow, their resemblance was uncanny. Gently, she reached her hand down and tugged out the tiny girl's soul, which draped lifelessly over her shoulder. The young goddess floated over to the group. "I don't suppose any of you have a way to get out of here?" Iso began to open his mouth, but was cut off by the girl with reddish-brown hair.

"Wait! We need to know how to heal someone who's been shot with a necromancy dart, before we leave." Isokrates chuckled at the statement.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm going with you. I'll be able to get the poison out of whoever's been hit," he explained, bordering on bragging. "Oh, and I can get all of us out of the Underworld. You're welcome." Aspasia rolled her eyes and clung to the soul she now carried, seeing Iso's eyes glow golden. Shadow encased them, and he heard him faintly chanting until it seemed too distant, and the darkness made it impossible to see. And then, they were gone.

**Well? Did you like it? Did you not? Let me know by following, favoriting, and reviewing!**

**Peace Out~ Icee**


	8. Recovery

**Heeeeeyyy people! New chapter, and I'm pretty proud of this one. So, without further ado, here's chapter 8!**

Rei was a nervous wreck with the state in which Genevieve's health had deteriorated. Her skin was pale, and her brown roots were spreading so fast to cover the golden tips of her hair, that he could actually see the color moving if he stared long enough. She no longer responded whenever he addressed her, instead staring blankly up at the ceiling. But, then again, maybe if he just tried one more time... "Gen-" An abrupt flash cut him off, and he fell backwards off of the couch and onto the floor. He blinked once. Twice. What had just happened? Why did the room seem more crowded than before? More importantly, was Genevieve okay?

"Rei?" someone said. The voice sounded familiar, and when he bent down and looked Rei in the eyes, recognition dawned. _Evan._ Of course, the snobby magician who made Rei angry at his own jealousy. Rei had never been happier to see anyone in his life. The boy grabbed Evan by the shoulders.

_"lm tahsul ealaa musaeada? Hal 'ant bkhyr? Yumkinuk 'an tusaeid Anjlyka? Yumkinuk musaeadat Aljiniral?!_" the words flew off of his tongue in rapid succession, so fast that his mind couldn't comprehend his words had come out in Arabic. When Evan gave him a blank stare, he looked around at the others in the room. Each of them wore the same expression, with the exception of Rosette, whom looked as though she was trying to decipher some of his words. He gave out a frustrated huff, knowing Gen would have understood him. Two of them were new; one of the new ones was carrying a pale bluish version of Angelica. At least they would be able to help her, so that question was answered. As far as he could see, everyone else had gotten back safely. He turned back to Evan, reconfiguring his English. "Can you help Gen?" he asked.

Evan gave a nod, standing up, and Rei followed him over to the couch. "Isokrates," he started, "claims that he can extract the venom from her system." The new boy ran a hand through the black flames atop his head and smirked, revealing sharper than normal teeth.

"Sure can," he replied. "But I don't have to." Before Rei could even think of lashing out, the new girl had smacked him over the head, her image flashing for one instance into one of shimmering beauty. Growling, Isokrates staggered forward, bending down in front of Rei. "_Alright_," he hissed. "But I'll need you all to leave the room. Privacy and all that."

_"Hell no,"_ Rei shot, narrowing his eyes. Iso grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I'm not leaving Gen. Especially not with some guy we just met!"

"Ugh, mortals. So very emotional." His blue eyes burned into Rei's. "It's pathetic." The staring went on for an awkwardly long amount of time, before Iso finally shook his head. "Fine. _You_ can stay while _I_ fix up your little girlfriend. The rest of you get out." After a moment's hesitation, everyone else filed out of the living room.

* * *

Lance anxiously looked over at Aspasia, whom still carried Angelica's tiny soul in her arms. Their group was wandering down the hall, Evan in the lead, of course, until he motioned for them to enter one of them. It was a large, high-ceilinged dining room, with a long table in the center. "Peter Pan lives _here_?" he whispered to Brook, earning a faint chuckle. He laughed, too, but it was forced and unnatural, causing her to turn away.

"James!" came a bright greeting, Gladice's voice filling the echoing room. Lance could see her run up and hug his lanky frame, hardly befitting of a young man, in his opinion. Hardly noticing the scowl forming on his face, he flinched when Brook touched his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked, clearly worried. His expression softened.

"I'm fine. I just need to find out where my sister is," he explained, barely convincing himself. Nevertheless, he turned his head back toward James and marched forward to him through the others, Aspasia following closely behind him. Gladice and James had pulled apart, and their conversation was now mixed in with several others from the group. When clearing his throat, Lance reached up and tapped James on the shoulder. The boy was a few inches taller than him, much to Lance's displeasure. James's bespectacled face shifted over to his, a weary smile forming in his features. "Where's my sister?"

The tension that had built in his muscles at the sight of Lance eased slightly, and James straightened his posture. "Hello. Don't worry, I can take you to her." Once Lance had given him a curt nod, he turned back to Gladice. "I'll be right back," he assured her, motioning for Lance to follow him. They entered the corridor, and he led him through the maze of rooms and up a large staircase, eventually stopping at the door to a guest bedroom. His head turned to see that Lance was still there, but he jumped at the sight of a girl behind him. An involuntary squeak left his mouth, and he cursed in his head at the smug grin that appeared on Lance's face. Embarrassed, he gave the girl one last glance, before looking away and opening the door. Inside was a queen-sized bed, and Angelica's small figure was lying under the covers. Allowing the other two into the room, James let his gaze fall to the ground before shutting the door. The entire time he had spent carrying the little girl, he figured she must have been dead. He could only imagine what was going through Lance's mind, and that made him wonder what it would be like if he had a sister. Or any siblings. Shaking his head, he started back towards the dining hall.

* * *

Isokrates sat in a chair in front of the couch, prepping the girl's mental and physical state for the extraction of the hydra venom. There were multiple ways he could have gone about doing it, some of them painful, but he had quickly made his decision as soon as he had met the mortal brat. The insolent boy was still sitting on the little space left at the end of the couch, watching him work with critical eyes. No matter; the look on his face was going to be priceless. Iso smirked.

"What's so funny?" the boy was quick to snap, and Iso could practically feel the hate flowing off of him in waves.

"I am ready to extract the venom," he explained, his voice eerily soothing for his nature. "You may want to look away."

"Why would I-" Rei cut himself off, staring in shock as Isokrates bent down and cupped Genevieve's face in his hands, roughly pressing his lips to hers. His blue eyes flicked back to him, and even though mortal flesh disgusted him, the expression young prince's features made the humiliation worth it.

Meanwhile, Rei was too shocked to think. The mere thought of him touching her made him sick, but now he was witnessing it before his very eyes. Possibly the most concerning thing about it all was that he knew that Genevieve had absolutely no consent whatsoever. And all Rei could do was sit there and take it.

Gen's back arched, and her body began twitching, until he finally-_finally_-let her go. Iso tilted his head up to the ceiling, letting out a puff of black smoke that dispersed in the air. "_A__l'ahmaq,"_ Rei spat, a split-second before Genevieve shot up, head jerking around, as if she were looking for something. Her eyes adjusted, landing on Isokrates. Without a word, she stuck her hand out and slapped him across the face. He laughed.

"If I could feel mortal-inflicted pain, you would be in a lot of trouble, little girl." She moved to slap him again, but her hand froze. Her entire body froze. Rei tried to move and found that he, too, was frozen in place. Inch by inch, Iso leaned closer to Genevieve, eyes stone cold. "Watch yourself, mortal. I took out the venom. Do not think that I am incapable of putting it back." And just like that, Rei was able to move again, just as Isokrates exited the room. Genevieve jerked forward, catching herself before she could hit the ground.

Rei crawled over on the couch to rub her shoulders, too relieved to see his best friend healthy again to think about how it had happened. "Gen?" he started, after a few moments of silence, his voice involuntarily cracking. "You're okay." Genevieve looked over and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah..." her voice was hoarse, but she did not let on that it hurt to speak. His emotions building up, Rei refused to cry, instead opting to pull Genevieve into a hug. She didn't hug him back. "I could hear you, when you were talking to me." That took a moment to register in his brain. She heard him? He gulped.

"Did you hear...everything?" After he felt her slowly nodding against his shoulder, he sighed exasperatedly. "Right...we need to talk."

* * *

Lance watched intently as Aspasia lowered Angelica's soul back into her body. When she did not immediately awake, he concluded that something was wrong, to which she had assured him that, since she was a small child, her recovery would take about an hour to restore her body. Although very annoyed, Lance thanked her and sat at the foot of the large bed. Aspasia eyed him curiously; she could see all the emotions he had been having recently, their imprints strong. There was, of course, worry, for his family and especially his sister. Hope, now that she was recovering. But there was something else. A girl? _No._ Two girls.

"Get out of my head." Aspasia flinched, grimacing at his harsh tone. Angry that she was still hovering, she supposed. With a shrug, she leaned against a bedpost.

"How could you tell?" she questioned, interested to know. She had never asked anyone before, so now seemed to be as good a time as any. Lance raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't." _Oh._ So that was that, then. Slight disappointment etched into her features.

"Right," Aspasia muttered, gracefully lowering herself into a chair, her green dress seamlessly floating around her form. "You have so many powerful emotions. Conflicting interests." He gave her a glare, which she ignored. "I could tell you what your heart wants, you know. Reach in and take the information that's invisible to you." She grabbed at the air in front of her. "But I won't." Her hand waved away, dismissing a few dust particles.

Shaking his head, Lance turned his head toward Angelica, and he brushed a strand of curly hair off her brow. He looked back up at Aspasia, running his hands through his hair. "I'm committed to Brook. What else is there to know? Gladice... she's my friend, okay? And that's it. That's all it'll ever be."

"So you say," she mused. "But you've given no thought to the matter. Perhaps you should reevaluate the situation, Sir Lancelot." A dry chuckle escaped his throat.

"This isn't Camelot, Aspasia," he murmured. "And I'm no knight in shining armor."

* * *

Evan sat in the large dining room, bored while watching the rest of the group meander around the home. It hardly registered when Rosette took the seat next to him. "Bonjour," she greeted softly, her red lips curved into a smile. He could not help but smile back, reaching out to take one of her hands in his. She giggled and rested her head on his shoulder, earning a kiss on the forehead. "Do you know what today is?"

"Of course," he whispered. "It's our three-year anniversary." Rose beamed up at him, even though she never doubted that Evan would remember. "Remember how we first met?" Well, she did, but she lifted her eyes up to his. "You were sitting in my seat at the table, and I had a tray of beignets, so when I came up, you said-"

"'Oh monsieur, you forgot my napkin.'" Rosette laughed and nudged his side playfully. "I thought you were the waiter!" Resting her chin on his shoulder, she pecked him on the cheek. "Do you remember when you asked me to be your girlfriend?" Evan smirked.

"You came to New Orleans with me, and we were sitting under that huge magnolia tree in Aunt Charlotte's yard. You looked so beautiful...and I kissed you and asked you to go out with me." The brunette, nuzzled into his side, but he pushed her back and stood up from his chair, pulling her up, too.

She raised an eyebrow. "Evan?" Before she could say another word, his hand was in his pocket and he was down on one knee. Her hazel eyes widening, a hand covered her mouth.

The boy chuckled nervously. "Th-this has been in my pocket since this whole thing started, and the timing just hasn't been right. But the timing doesn't matter, I think." He lifted his gaze to hers. "It's the person." Tears formed in Rosette's eyes as he held up the ring, golden with four small diamonds across the band. "So, Rosette Ambre Bete, would you do me the honor of being my wife?" Rose swiped at her eyes, smiling and crying and nodding her head.

Evan remained awkwardly on his knee until she could finally muster the word, "Yes." He jumped up and hugged her, spinning her around as he did. When he put her down, he wasted no time in kissing her. There was a small amount of applause, but something else interrupted. Gladice was speaking frantically, and Evan looked up at her with a confused expression. "What is it?" he asked.

Gladice looked up at him, tugging at her hair. "Thalia's missing."

**A/N: Okay, so just to clarify, Rei starts ****speaking in Arabic when he's stressed out, so yeah... And oh nooooo! Cliffhanger! Because I never do that! What a twist! I'm sorry, I'm done. **

**~Icee~**


	9. Valentine Special

**Valentine's Special~** **With all the ships!**

**#1: Lance and Gladice (pre-COD)**

Gladice stared at the long box in her hands, wrapped in bright pink paper with a purple bow. Raising an eyebrow, she looked back up at Lance, his golden curls bouncing around his face. "You _do_ know that my birthday's not till next week, right?" she asked, sarcasm lacing her tone. Lance just shrugged.

"I figured I'd give this one to you early." He smiled eagerly. "Go on, Gliss, open it." Gladice stuck her tongue out at him, tearing through the paper most ungracefully.

"Don't call me Gliss," she demanded. It was the nickname he'd had for her since as long as she could remember. That was what he called her at first, because he couldn't properly pronounce her name. And, at the time, she had hated the name.

But it didn't seem that bad, anymore. "Whatever you say~" Lance sang, sinking down next to Gladice on her bed. Once all of the wrapping had been sufficiently removed, she opened the box and gave Lance a confused expression. Inside was a shiny new fencing sword.

"Er...I love it?" She didn't fence, but she supposed she could take it up. Still, she was disappointed; she had thought Lance knew her better than that.

"And this is why I needed to give it to you early. 'Cause I'm also going to give you one free fencing lesson." He grinned smugly at her. "No need to thank me twice." Gladice blushed and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I love-" she caught herself and cleared her throat "-that you would do this for me." A smile formed on her lips, as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Of course! Your sweet sixteen only happens once, you know." Gladice punched him in the arm.

"It's still a week away, feather brain," she teased, poking his head.

Lance chuckled. "Alright, alright. So, when do you wanna start?" The girl sighed.

"Now's good, I suppose." Standing, she reached a hand out and smiled, keeping her embarrassing secret crush to herself. "So let's go."

* * *

**#2: Evan and Rosette (post-COD)**

It was a nice summer evening in the tropical kingdom of Maldonia, the warm lights of the castle barely illuminating the small village around it. Rosette leaned out over her balcony, breathing in the salty air of the ocean surrounding the island. The silence was relaxing, and even after five years of living there, the princess was still getting used to the constant warmth. And she still couldn't imagine having to rule it one day. "_Il innamorato?" _a voice called to her from the doorway. She swiveled around, relieved to see her husband standing in the doorframe.

"Yes, _les époux?" _she responded, as she fiddled with her frizzing hair. Evan chuckled, moving forward and petting the locks down with his broad hands.

"I've managed to put Paolo to sleep, but Rico is asking for his mom," he sighed, kissing Rose's forehead.

Rosette pouted. "Aw, but I was looking forward to going to sleep early tonight. Can't your mother send him to sleep, just this once?" When Evan shook his head, Rosette took a deep breath and rubbed her cheek. "Alright, I will go tuck him in, but you are coming with me." With a smile, he intwined their fingers and pulled Rosette down the long corridor and into their older son's room. The four-year-old was seated in his bed, the covers pulled up to his nose. "Rico," she called, and the little boy yanked the covers down, revealing his bright hazel eyes.

"Mama!" he replied joyfully, his eyes following her movements, while she scooted next to him and stretched her legs out on his bed. Rico hugged her arm, and she smiled warmly at him.

"What do you need, dear? Why won't you let Papa tuck you in?" she asked, stroking his wavy hair. The little boy gazed into her eyes hopefully.

"Sing, Mama." Rosette hesitated, glancing up at Evan, then back at Rico.

"A-Are you sure you don't want Papa to sing to you? He is much better than me," she attempted, but her son was shaking his head. She exhaled sharply, and thought of the tune in her head. Her favorite lullaby... _"Dodo, l'enfant do, l'enfant dormira bien vite. Dodo, l'enfant do l'enfant dormira bientôt~" _The song continued for a few verses, but she quit singing once Rico had fallen asleep. "Goodnight, baby," she whispered, planting a kiss on his head, as she gently laid him down under his covers. Rosette quietly moved to the doorway, noting that Evan had slipped away during her lullaby. Shutting off the lights, she made her way back to her room, placing her hands on her hips. "You'd better have a good reason for leaving me th-" Evan cut her off with a kiss, his hands wrapping around her waist. When they pulled apart, she stared at him in awe. "What was that?"

He grinned, nuzzling into her neck. "I love you," he breathed, pressing his lips against her jaw. "And happy anniversary."

* * *

**#3: Lance and Brook (pre-COD)**

His purple eyes darted from Brook's stepfather, to her mother, to the stairs, then back to her stepfather. Mr. Smith kept staring at him with a stone cold glare, obviously taking note of everything wrong with the boy whom would be taking his daughter out that night. Brook's mom seemed calmer, though, a light smile across her face. As he lifted his eyes back up to the stairs with a gulp, his breath hitched. There was Brook, wearing an elegant lavender dress, her brown hair braided over her shoulder. It was only there to shield some of her paler skin, but Lance didn't really care. She was beautiful. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, he extended his elbow, which she gladly took.

"Well, I'll see you guys later," Brook proclaimed, waving to her parents as she tugged Lance over to the door. "Bye, mom! Bye, dad!"

"Bye, sweetie!" her mother replied, shortly before Brook closed the door and sighed. She raised an eyebrow up at Lance.

"What happened after I left? You could've cut the tension with a knife, it was so thick." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nothing happened..." answered Lance nervously, shrugging. "I don't think your stepdad likes me very much, though."

Brook giggled, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "Oh, he doesn't like anyone who comes courting me, so don't worry," she assured him sweetly, attaching herself to his arm. "Maybe he'll come around, if we have a good first date."

Lance smiled smugly. "Well, then, prepare to be amazed, because I've got the perfect date planned." The brunette's eyes lit up.

"Perfect?" she repeated hopefully. Lance winked at her.

"Perfect."

* * *

**#4: Rei and Gen (high school AU)**

"I cannot BELIEVE you!" Genevieve was seething with so much rage that Rei could practically see the smoke coming from her ears. Iso stood across from her with a scowl on his face. "Why would you even TRY to date her?! You're dating me, _and _she's got a boyfriend, anyways!" Rolling his eyes, Iso crossed his arms.

"Whatever, babe, it's not like I really like Aspasia, anyways. I just can't believe she went to you and blew everything out of proportion." He took a step forward. Gen took a step back. With a huff, he ran a hand through his hair. "Come on, we're tight, you and me. We just need to work this out." When he reached out to touch her arm, she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me," she commanded. Rei tried not to be happy about this, but he had never seen her be so assertive, and it was kind of refreshing. Plus, he had never liked Isokrates, and he especially didn't like that Gen had put all of her effort into that stupid relationship just to have it fall apart. Still, a small part of him couldn't help but be relieved that his friend would be free of the scumbag. A grumble came from Iso's throat, just as his hand shot out and grabbed Gen's wrist. She yelped, and Rei was quick to shove him away from her.

Iso glared at them. "Is this because of him?!" He pointed a finger at Rei. "You just want to get on to your next toy, you-"

"What are you _talking _about?" Genevieve asked, a bewildered expression on her face. "This is about YOU trying to cheat on ME. We're over, jerk!" Throwing his hands up in the air, Iso turned his back to them.

"Fine!" They watched him storm off out of the park, until his shadow had disappeared through the metallic gate. The night wind felt cold on his face, but Rei was more concerned with Genevieve. She kept staring at the gate for a long while after Iso had left, then slow, steady tears began dripping from her eyes. Breaking down into a sobbing mess, she moved to sit on the bench closest to them, burying her face in her hands. Rei followed closely behind and sat next to her, rubbing her back. Once her crying had died down, he asked, "Are you okay?"

Gen shook her head. "I was so stupid... Why did I date him for so long?" Pursing his lips, Rei stayed silent, until Gen just shook her head. "Whatever, it's over now." That was true, it was over, but Gen was a wreck. And the two of them had sworn a long time ago that they would always cheer each other up. So, he knew what he had to do, what he _needed _to do, and what he'd been needing to do for a while.

"Hey, look at me for a sec." Arching an eyebrow, Genevieve turned her head to face his. They were only inches apart, he just needed to...

"Rei? Wha-" The sound of her voice gave him that one little push, and he closed the gap. Although he felt guilty when he could taste the saltiness of her tears, he could feel a hand touch his cheek, and as far as he could tell, Gen wasn't fighting it. Eventually, they broke apart, staring at each other with dumbstruck expressions. Rei finally broke the silence and whispered, "You're my best friend." And both of them realized it almost instantaneously. They were in love.

**Soooo? Did you ****like it? Did you not? Let me know by following, favoriting, and reviewing! And happy late Valentine's day!**

**~Icee~**


	10. Prisoner

**Helloooooo everyone! I apologize for the two weeks with no update, but I've been a little busy. I managed to finish it, though, and now we're back to the plot! So, without any further ado, here's chapter 10!**

Thalia was not exactly sure how it happened. The mission had gone as planned... well, it had gone how the loosely spoken words that could hardly be called a plan had anticipated. But, somehow, _she _had been the one to make a mistake. Maybe she misstepped, got too far away; she had a habit of staying toward the edge of any sort of gathering, so perhaps she looked like easy prey. Oh, she put up a real fight when the undead henchman took her from behind, but it was surprisingly strong for a corpse. At any rate, she found herself being thrown into a cage and heard the door slam shut, before she could spring to her feet and fight back. She threw herself against the black, spindly metal bars, but they were as unmoving as she should have expected and were too close together for even her hand to reach through.

"Lemme out!" she yelled, wrapping her fingers around the bars. "OI! Lemme out or yer gunna be sorry, ye pathetic bastards!" Thalia screamed and thrashed until her throat became sore and her body shook with exasperation. But she refused to give up. Never would she give up. Silence encompassed the room in place of the echoes left by her voice.

That didn't last long, though. Someone cleared their throat, and Thalia finally took a moment to observe her surroundings. The room was dimly lit by the pale glow of blue flames along the walls. It was barren, aside from an identical cage directly opposite of hers. "Are you done acting like a petulant child?" asked the voice, too smooth and calm to be trustworthy, Thalia thought. She blew a tuft of her short, fiery hair from her face.

"Excuse you, but I have a right ta be angry." Her accent thickened with every word, the frustration lacing her words. Something resembling a snort came from the other prisoner, whom was seated with his back against the bars of the cage, facing her. His light brown locks matted around his face, and she could just make out the stubble formed along his jawline. He could not have been there for too long, though, because his muscles didn't look like they could have suffered much damage. The guy was a wall of flesh that looked like it would have taken many more guards to subdue. "I'll be damned if I'm gunna stay 'ere, caged up like a wild animal!"

Slowly, he stood from his position, crossing his arms over his chest as he strode to the side of his cage that was closer to Thalia. A bluish glint sparked around his purple irises, and he bore an eery resemblance to Lance. "Oh, I don't doubt it. But..." He hesitated. Very _unlike_ Lance. "...I trust you are acquainted with my brother, Lance? You must be Thalia. He mentions you sometimes." The expression on his face remained neutral, though his tone failed to disguise a hint of uncertainty. When she gave him a curt nod, he slumped in what looked like relief. "Is he okay?" She nodded again, eyes darting over his loose brown tunic, leather boots, back to his eyes. "And my sister?" Her stomach twisted, a pang of guilt shooting through her body. Honestly, Angelica might have been dead, for all she knew. The frail little girl was already so close to dying the last time Thalia had seen her, and the rest of her team- er, group- might not have completed their task.

Evidently, she had stayed idle for too long. The boy's face fell, the light in his eyes extinguished. "I can't say fer sure. We came down 'ere to save her, but I got captured before we got to wherever we were goin," she was quick to explain, but he did not brighten again. "How did ya know my name?" He shrugged, leaning against the bars.

"I told you, my brother mentions you sometimes." He pondered this for a moment, before adding, "Lance mentions a lot of people, actually, but you're the only one he always has to mention is a redhead." Thalia's face flamed, rather against her will, from what she assumed was irritation, but it wasn't quite the same. "I'm Daren."

He stepped away from the bars and bowed to her, with which she returned a face of disgust. "Don' ever do that again." Thalia huffed, turning her back to him and sinking to the ground. "...Nice ta meet you."

* * *

Gladice stared in awe at the observatory Peter had led them all to, after Gladice's sudden announcement of Thalia's absence. A thousand glittering stars shined through the glass ceiling, and an enormous telescope stood on a raised platform in the center of the room. Of course, there had not been much time to admire it. They were there because they had to know where Thalia was. The most likely (and _obvious,_ Gladice thought) place she could be was the Underworld, where perhaps they had unknowingly left her. Aspasia said she could not recall seeing another member of their group with them, so she would have had to have gotten separated from them before then. Peter was doing something with Melody, wrapping her hands in some sort of blue fabric, it looked like. Despite everything, she still looked resilient, though Gladice wasn't sure how much longer that would last.

Rosette and Evan looked like they were trying not to smile, and Gladice's confusion must have alerted Rosette, because soon her friend had pulled her off to the side. "Hey," Gladice greeted. "What's up?"

"There's... um..." Rosette seemed lost for words, a rare occurrence from the usually so astute brunette. After a few more mumbles, she finally just ended up blurting, "I'm engaged." Gladice's jaw slackened as her sentence swirled around in her mind.

"To Evan?" was the only thing she could think to say. Rose's smile broadened, and her head bobbed eagerly, which in turn invoked a smile from Gladice, as well. "Oh my gosh, Rose!" Pulling her friend in to a hug, she realized just how long she'd gone without having a moment like this, with her best friend and being happy just because Rosette was happy. And she had really missed that feeling. When they pulled apart, Gladice asked, "When did this happen?"

"Just now." The brunette raised her left hand and wiggled her fingers, showing off the golden ring embedded with three shimmering diamonds. As she admired the gorgeous ring, Gladice couldn't shove down the envy in the pit of her stomach. That should have been _her._ With _Lance._ As soon as the thought came up, Gladice knew it was wrong. After all, she was certainly aware of Lance's relationship with Brook, and having a crush on a taken person was despicable. Still...

She sighed, supposing nothing would come of her feelings, now, anyways. "I wish I could've been there to see it," she mused. Shortly before returning to the dining hall, Gladice had been exploring the kitchen with James, since they were both hungry. That must have been when Evan had popped the question, she guessed.

A bright green flash lit up the room, but was gone just as quickly as it had come. Melody stood in the center of the observatory, glowing green dust glinting around her eyes. "What happened?" asked Evan, whom had been in conversation with Lance a moment before. Brook clung to Lance's arm, ever so petite and fragile and _lucky. _Gladice quickly averted her gaze.

"Your friend is searching for the other one. She's about to enter the other's mind," Peter said as nonchalantly as ever. "With any luck, the other one'll actually listen to that little voice in her head." He winked at the group. "And I'm pretty lucky, for an old man."

* * *

Melody was swimming, then she was sinking, then she was running. The ocean turned into the forest, the scenery dragging her out of her own mind and into someone else's. Confusion washed over her for the first few hectic moments of the transition, but then she slowly began to remember where she was and what she was doing. She ended up on the peak of a tall mountain, overlooking a wide forest with a castle somewhere off in the distance. Peter had told her that once she found Thalia, she would have to sprinkle the pixie dust on her mental state in order to bring her fully into her own mind. Only then would they be able to communicate. Sighing, Melody adjusted the loose-fitting jeans she'd put on before agreeing to this. Apparently, Peter had a bunch of clothes of various shapes and sizes he kept in his house for some reason. It creeped her out, if she was being perfectly honest. But the jeans and t-shirt were better than the heavy dress she'd had to wear for the past few days.

Finding Thalia was not extremely hard. After wandering through the forest in the direction of the palace for a while, Melody saw her wandering around like a zombie with an emotionless stare. She wasted no time blowing a puff of green pixie dust into the girl's eyes. All at once, Thalia swiftly pulled the sword from her belt, pinning Melody to a tree with it at her throat. "What the 'ell are ya doin' in my head?"

**Well? Did you like it? Did you not? Let me know by following, ****favoriting, and reviewing!**

**~Peace Out~~Icee**


	11. Friend

Melody gasped, her eyes widening. "Th-Thalia! It's me, Melody!" she attempted, but Thalia just pushed the sword closer to Melody's neck. "We're f-friends, remember?" In desperation, she reached out an arm and yanked at one of Thalia's short curls. "THALIA!" The redhead screamed and released her, and Melody rubbed her neck without moving from the tree her back was pressed against. Thalia glared at her and, in a single fluid motion, sent her sword flying at Melody's head. Yelping, she ducked the instant before the blade would have decapitated her. Clearly, Thalia was not going listen to reason. So, Melody bounced back onto her feet and charged, the fierce red curls acting as a target for her to capture. From seemingly out of nowhere, a bow appeared in her friend's hands. Whatever. It was Thalia's mind, she supposed, so she could do what she wanted.

An arrow zipped past her, nicking her right arm. Blood seeped out from the cut, and in that moment, Melody remembered where she was. Her arm did not sting with pain, because she was in Thalia's mind. Recalling what Peter had told her before crossing into her mind, Mel took deep breaths, focusing on her speed. She hardly noticed when an arrow went straight through her abdomen. _This is not real. _Another arrow, this time through her head. _This is not real. _She concentrated hard, imagining the blood flowing from the cut stretching into long, red ropes. They wrapped around Thalia's resisting body, and the bow dropped to the ground. Melody tackled her to the ground and landed on top of her with a thud, her breathing heavy. "I'm Melody! Look at me!"

"Mel's my friend. I dunno who ye are, but yer not her." To Melody's pleading eyes, she gave a sneer. "Fine, then. What's the first present I gave ye, _Mel?_" She said it with such disgust, Mel wondered how Thalia could be so sure that she wasn't herself. It was baffling to her that, even after all they'd been through together, Thalia could not recognize her.

"A dolphin carved from ash wood!" After blinking a few times, realization dawned on Thalia's face. Melody just scowled at her failure to recognize her supposed 'best friend'. "Now, will you _please_ listen to me? There's a lot of stuff I need to explain."

* * *

Gladice stood in the hallway just outside the door to the observatory. The room itself was fairly large, but with everyone crowded in there at once, she needed some space to breathe. Dim lamps lined the walls, casting an eery glow over the dark wooden walls. Her eyelids drooped from exhaustion, something she was not aware had been affecting her for quite some time. A dry laugh escaped her lips. "I guess the shock hasn't worn off, yet..." she murmured softly.

"Maybe not." Gasping, Gladice made a swift turn to see who had joined her. Lance had his arms crossed over his chest, the thin fabric of his black t-shirt showing off the muscles of his biceps. She couldn't look at him for very long before a blush crept onto her cheeks. Quickly, her head swiveled to look at the ground, and she scolded herself for still harboring feelings toward him. He was only a friend. Yet, when she had the nerve to look back up at him, she was sure his purple eyes were fixated on her in the same way hers had been so many times prior. His head turned away before she had the time to process the look. "Are you scared?"

A delirious laugh echoed through the hall. "Am I scared? Am I _scared?"_ Waving her hands in wide gestures, Gladice swiftly listed, "Why would I be scared? My parents are gone to who-knows-where. I was tricked by Ursula and nearly mauled by a lion, after which we spent forever walking in a desert, all without food. Then, Angelica and Genevieve nearly die, and now Thalia's missing. And we still don't know how to fix this." By the end of her hysterical rant, the information had sunk in for Gladice just as much as Lance, and her laughs turned to sobs. She was almost content to just stand there and be miserable, possibly die of dehydration. Nice and peaceful, like ice melting, she would become a part of her surroundings and not be missed.

Warmth surrounded her, but she did not open her eyes. She could not face Lance, not as a friend. Being a friend wasn't enough; she wanted more than that. Gladice finally had the courage to look up at him and saw that his eyes were brimming with tears as well. It occurred to her that she could probably kiss him, with how close their faces were. The act would have been so easy. Instead, she closed her eyes again and gently pushed him back. His arms dropped from around her surprisingly easily.

"I'm s-" Hands gripped her face, and Lance was kissing her before she could even open her eyes. A thousand thought flooded her brain, none of them saying that she should pull away. Was this a dream? Then, when it clearly was not a dream, what was he thinking? She pushed him back, but kept ahold of his shirt collar to keep him close. "Lance..."

Lance looked at her like he was guilty. Which he was, but she wished he wouldn't look at her like that. He didn't pull away, though. "Gladice, I don't know what I'm doing. All those times when you flirted with me, and I was secretly dating Brook, I was so sure that I wasn't interested in you as anything more than a good friend." The words stung Gladice's heart, but she let him continue. "But then you found out. Maybe it was the heartbreak on your face, maybe it was the loss of everything you'd given me that Brook just didn't know how to replace. Whatever it was, something clicked, and I wasn't so sure anymore." His lips brushed hers, just slightly, as he whispered the words.

"Why did you follow me out here?" she asked, the question nullifying the burning sensation in her chest.

"To do that," he sighed. Gladice pursed her lips.

"You're still dating Brook," she whispered. Running a hand through her hair, she stepped farther away from him. "This will kill her if she finds out. We both know how sensitive she is. And she'll hate me. I'm not even sure if she's fully forgiven me from before!"

"But I want to be with you," said Lance, a determined edge to his voice.

Gladice shook her head. "I'm sorry. Maybe, if we all get out of this in one piece, but right now I'm pretty sure Brook needs you more than you know. So please..." She placed a hand over his heart. "...please, be with her." And with that, she reentered the observatory.

* * *

Rei scowled, as he sulked in the corner he had claimed as his own, watching Genevieve ask Iso so many _fascinating_ questions about the Underworld. The way she smiled and seemed so captivated by every little thing he said made him want to gag. He rolled his eyes, forcing himself to stop looking at them. If Gen wanted to abandon him, then fine. It wasn't like he was the one who had waited there next to her dying body for hours, agonizing over whether or not he would ever speak to his best friend again. How could she just ignore him like that?

But he knew that wasn't fair. It was not her fault that she loved gaining knowledge, especially from a primary source, such as Isokrates. Rei wondered why he even gave Iso a second thought. A guy like that could never take away Gen. Then again, he had never had to worry about it before. Ever since they had first met, it had just been the two of them. No one else interested them besides each other. Now, suddenly, there was this new guy, a _god_, who surely had exciting tales and could provide a sense of adventure to Gen's life. That was real competition, it was.

"Hey," greeted Genevieve's voice. Rei merely grunted in response, refusing to look at her. He heard her groan. "Oh, come on. You aren't seriously jealous of _him_, are you?" Still refusing to look at her, he was surprised when his usually reserved friend grabbed his arm and spun him around, glaring at him. "I am NOT in the mood for this, Rei. What's your problem?"

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe you should go ask your new best friend," Rei spat, suddenly angry as well. "It's not like you even care what I think, anyways." Genevieve's expression turned into something he could not recognize. Pity? Not likely. Perhaps sorrow, but he'd seen her upset before, and it didn't look like this. Sighing in defeat, Gen released his arm.

"Fine, just..." She opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to change her mind in the process. Instead, she just closed her mouth and walked away. As he watched her go, Rei felt a twinge of sadness creep up through his resentment, but quickly shoved it back down and turned his back to her. If she wanted to do this, then fine. He would let her toss him and their friendship aside.

* * *

Thalia was sitting cross-legged in the forest, Melody across from her. And, apparently, also in her mind. Well, this was going to be fun.

**And that's it for this chapter! I'm sorry for the shorter updates; I know it feels like things are moving slow. But things are going to actually happen next chapter, I promise! Oh, and I've got a ****deviantart account. You can find art and stuff for this story here: **** gallery/53357521/Children-of-Disney**

**~Peace out-Icee~**


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